Knots
by aceParadox
Summary: He's not sure if he can call them "friends," exactly, but Rin figures that the term is pretty damn close. - Drabbles. Rin's POV on those he calls friends.


**a/n** | I'd call it _Ties_, but Rin is clumsy so it's _Knots_. Deal with it. I adore this series too much to be healthy, hnnnn.

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><p>His fraternal twin brother is someone that Rin loves with a large chunk of his heart, but he also wishes that the younger would just get his ass kicked into the next life.<p>

Rin hasn't the slightest clue where Yukio had gotten the notion that he all of a sudden had to be the older brother from. And it pisses him off because, hello, he'd been the older brother since, well, he was _born_, and spotty four-eyes couldn't go switching it up whenever he wanted. It doesn't help that he's Rin's freaking _teacher _and is ahead of him by four years when it comes to being an Exorcist. What ever happened to the crybaby Yukio with the giant spectacles and runny nose?

His competitive side becomes prevalent whenever his younger brother has to save him from being, erm, killed. His swollen ego always gets a punch in the gut when he's heroically rescued by the other, though somewhere deep within his soul, he appreciates it and owes Yukio one later.

God, Rin just wants to kick Yukio in the stomach and make him lose his cool sometimes. He bottles his feelings all in for some reason, and doesn't go to his big brother for comfort like he's supposed to; Rin is _supposed _to be the big brother, but somehow he feels like it's switched around when he runs to the other twin whenever he has a problem. Yukio is too calm and collected to be the baby brother, damn it.

Although infuriated and annoyed by the boy, Rin loves Yukio just as any twin brother should, and more. But any sibling relationship comes with the tendency to argue – and point guns and swords at one another once in a while.

_- - - x_

He's totally, absolutely sure that any and every flower will always remind him of the clumsy, fiddly Shiemi.

It vaguely annoys him because she is everything that Rin once detested and looked down upon. Fragile and frail and childish and a crybaby, gives up far too quickly. Moriyama Shiemi is someone who needs a push to start walking on her own two legs again, to be lifted from the ground and have someone to help her too often.

She's dishonest and he knows that most of her smiles wrinkle the edges of her eyelids with something other than glee or happiness; something bitter and grieving, something that she shouldn't be experiencing because she deserves better, the best, even. He usually can cheer her up in these kinds of situations, but they're something to note when he needs to know these things.

Having been the first friend that Rin made at True Cross, he tends to be protective of the girl due to the necessity to protect her in battle and on missions. She seems to not mind one bit, evident in the way that she thanks Rin every time and fixes him and Yukio herb tea later as a reward.

Rin decides that he doesn't mind being the push or lift that the ditzy girl needs.

_- - - x_

The stupid one is stupid, and he's stupid just because that's what he is.

At first he'd been an object of admiration, for all of twelve seconds – a rebel was the first word to slip into Rin's mind, having been witness to pierced ears and a strangely rooster-like hairstyle, a frown almost never _not_ spread across the probably-older boy's mouth.

As the thirteenth second passed, however, the admiration faded with the ragged voice insulting him and kicking his more violent tendencies into gear. (He still needs to get revenge on Yukio for pulling and holding him back – the guy really did deserve a punch or two.)

Rin swears he hates him, despises the older-looking fifteen-year-old nicknamed "Bon" to his very core and soul. But he can tell by the small things he does – the way he tosses Rin's dropped pencil back into his desk while he is busy taking a nap, or letting the slacker borrow an extra hair pin when he's forgotten the other he's borrowed – that maybe Suguro Ryuji isn't the absolute scum of the earth.

He's just a _tad_ bit better than that.

_- - - x_

Rin doesn't really know how to describe the one known as Shima Renzou. "Perverted" and "uncool" could work, but he's not certain because the pink-haired young monk is full of surprises himself. That quality is something that both intrigues and annoys the dark-haired boy.

Because one moment, he could be pulling the daily (terrible) pick-up line to use on Kamiki only to be rejected and called a moron or such, and the next he'd be cowering behind Bon because a spider wiggled its way up from under his desk. And yet, he _still_ proclaims his "coolness" to everyone and anyone within earshot at any chance he gets.

But it's strange. Though educated and informed of Rin's demon traits, the guy still doesn't mind being near him or talking to him, even when no one else would want to stay within ten feet of the demon-boy for longer than ten seconds.

It could be because he is a kind boy who wants to become friends with Rin, or simply because it's troublesome or uncool to leave a guy alone by himself.

Yeah, it's probably the second one.

_- - - x_

Because of the nickname he's given her, Rin is pretty sure he won't be able to think of the word 'eyebrows' without thinking of Kamiki Izumo, the haughty girl with the rotten attitude and slightly strange complex for her best friend.

He kind of regrets that fact, thinking about it – who would want to be reminded of such a person? She's cruel and snappy and calls him nothing short of brainless far too often than she should. Rin's classmates undoubtedly think the same as he does, with one large boy in particular getting violent on some occasions, and Yukio having to halt too many arguments with a pinch on the bridge of his nose. It's no justification to her actions that she's the leading academic in the entire class – though there's not much competition other than Bon when it comes down to that.

But the soap she'd used to wash the shirt he'd let her borrow, though, smelled of lavender, and the shirt had a softer feel to it upon being returned by a stubborn-faced Izumo.

Fine, maybe she's not as evil and merciless as Rin thought, but she's still an evil witch in his book. A witch who uses lavender soap and fabric softener.

_- - - x_

Konekomaru isn't someone that he knows much about. He grew up with Suguro and Shima in the Kyoto temple, sure, but that's pretty much the gist of what Rin knows.

But now that he thinks about it, Shima has teased the small boy about felines and bath time during class before. Okay, so the guy liked long baths and cats. (Rin offhandedly wonders if he should introduce Konekomaru to Kuro, but scraps the idea because although Kuro is a cat, he is a demon and should be kept relatively secret anyway.)

He's kind of a foil to Rin, with the serious attitude and down-to-business way he goes about things. So far, though, Konekomaru has been kind to him, as kind as he is to the people he calls his friends.

Rin is grateful for that.

_- - - x_

_f i n_

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><p>Yaaaay~ 2 a.m. drabbles are the best, no? I wanted to include Mephisto and Amaimon, but they're not exactly Rin's friends… so uh, maybe next time. (… shut up and go to bed, self.)<p>

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing.


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